Hungary: Legal Environment

Business Contract

Law Applicable to the Contract: Be very careful which law you apply to the contract as well as the dispute resolutions. It is advisable to turn to a lawyer that is specialized in international law.
Advisable Incoterms: EXW
Language of Domestic Contract: A legally binding document can be in English or Hungarian, but in the event of commercial or tax dispute, an authenticated Hungarian version is the governing document.
Other Laws Which Can Be Used in Domestic Contracts: If it is not the Hungarian law that is used, use the other country's law to conclude the contract.

National Organisations: Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala (Hungarian Intellectual Property Office).
Regional Organisations: For the protection of patents: the European Patent Office (EPO). To control trademarks, designs and models: the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
International Membership: Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention For the Protection of Intellectual Property
Membership to the TRIPS agreement - Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent 1995. XXXIII. Chapter XIV/C. Paragraphs 115/D-115/L year 2006. Law LVII.	Patents are protected for 20 years from the date the application is filed but must be annually maintained by a patent fee.	Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Trademark 1997. Law XI.	Trademark protection is granted for ten years and may be incrementally extended by additional ten-year periods.	Trademark Law Treaty Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design Government decree 266/2001. (XII. 21.) .	Valid for 25 years and renewable once.
Copyright 1995. Law XXXIII. Government decree 156/1999. (XI. 3.)	70 years after creator's death for patrimonial rights 50 years for the first publication and registration rights	Berne convention For the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms Rome ConventionFor the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations WIPO Copyright Treaty WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
Industrial Models Act No. XLVIII of 2001 on the Legal Protection of Designs	Industrial designs are protected for five years from the date of application and may be extended to a maximum of 25 years.

District court	111 municipal and - in the capital - 6 district courts functioning as courts of first instance with general jurisdiction.
Courts of Justice and the Metropolitan Court of Budapest	19 courts of justice and - in the capital - the Municipal Court of Budapest functioning as courts of first and second instance, 5 of them specified by law deal with military cases.
Court of Public Administration and Labour
Regional courts of appeal	5 High Courts of Appeal.
Curia - Supreme Court	Curia (Supreme Court) of the Republic of Hungary which is the highest tribunal with double jurisdiction: judgment and harmonization of the judicial practice.
Special Tribunals	Hungary has special tribunals only in labour disputes. Labour courts shall proceed in the first instance in actions originating from employment relationships and legal relationships having the nature of an employment relationship. Labour courts shall operate in the capital and in the counties; total number of these courts is 20.

bírósági végrehajtó: Court official that executes the decision taken by the court.
bírósági végrehajtó helyettes: Deputy of the court official.
bírósági végrehajtó jelölt: Candidate to the court official position.
Bírósági leíró: In charge of noting and in charge of handing out documents.

Arbitration: Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Arbitration Law: LXXXI law from year 1994
Conformity to International Commercial Arbitration Rules: Party to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
Appointment of Arbitrators: The parties agree that all disputes arising from or in connection with the present contract, its breach, termination, validity or interpretation, shall be exclusively decided by the Court of Arbitration attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Budapest in accordance with its own Rules of Procedure.
Arbitration Procedure: The mediation procedure may terminate with the signing of a settlement agreement by the parties, and must be terminated if the procedure does not result in a settlement within 4 months from its commencement. The parties may freely initiate a court or arbitration procedure regarding the same conflict even after a settlement has been concluded, but there are restrictions on the ability of the parties to refer to information acquired in the mediation procedure in the court or arbitration procedure.
Permanent Arbitration Bodies: Permanent Court of Arbitration (Sectors Covered: Attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it acts as the permanent court of arbitration in international cases.)

Any Comment About This Content? Report It to Us.